CHICAGO: The PR industry has to dig deeper into its pockets and do more to attract men into the profession or run the risk of being categorized as a 'women's profession' and losing gender diversity, said three industry veterans speaking at the Public Relations World Congress 2000.

CHICAGO: The PR industry has to dig deeper into its pockets and do more to attract men into the profession or run the risk of being categorized as a 'women's profession' and losing gender diversity, said three industry veterans speaking at the Public Relations World Congress 2000.

CHICAGO: The PR industry has to dig deeper into its pockets and do more to attract men into the profession or run the risk of being categorized as a 'women's profession' and losing gender diversity, said three industry veterans speaking at the Public Relations World Congress 2000.

'Entry-level compensation is an issue,' said Harold Burson, founder of Burson-Marsteller, explaining why he thought men were less keen on entering the industry than women. He estimated that 75% of new hires today are women and added that when he visits colleges for recruiting, female students significantly outnumber the men.

Male college graduates are going into professions like law or the business world because of higher starting salaries, according to Burson.

Al Golin, a founder of Golin/Harris International, agreed, saying: 'Women predominate in (Golin) offices around the world.' Golin also said he has tried to step up recruiting of men from other professions at the midcareer level, where salaries tend to be more comparable to those in PR, he said.

Dan Edelman, founder of Edelman Public Relations Worldwide, concurred: 'I think we equal out (in terms of salary) over time.' He also noted that it's not uncommon for a new PR person's salary to quickly double.

Women have been a part of Edelman PR since its founding in the early 1950s, but in those years the industry was still predominately a male profession, the speakers said. Burson said he saw the picture slowly start to change in the mid-1970s and into the early 1980s.